The councils of SSB, ASN and SSE have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Evolution meeting in Cleveland. Our highest priority is the health and well-being of our communities. We will be issuing full refunds to all attendees and sponsors who have registered thus far. We are continuing to plan for Evolution 2021 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Please pay attention to best practices during these stressful times, and stay healthy.

This does not mean that the 2020 conference is necessarily cancelled. The conference organizers and society councils are currently discussing the best path forward with consideration of the health of our attendees and to limit the potential for infection and spread of COVID-19. The situation is changing daily, and if we do cancel the conference for June 2020, it will be due to circumstances that are beyond our control. If the meeting will be held as planned we will extend the early registration and talk submission deadlines. Be assured that if you have already registered you will receive a refund if the conference is cancelled. We will continue to post notifications here and via Twitter @Evol_mtg.

At this point, the Evolution meeting is going ahead as planned. Registration remains open and we note that attendees can cancel their meeting registration for a full refund (less a nominal $10 fee) up to June 1. We are monitoring the situation as the health and safety of our attendees remains our top priority, and while we will do our best to avoid it, we will cancel if deemed appropriate. We are currently assessing our agreements with the conference center and other parties and will be consulting with the governing councils of SSE, ASN, and SSB. We hope to establish a more firm timetable for decisions in the next 10 days or so. Updates will be posted here as soon as they are available.

The SSE Gould Prize Committee is pleased to announce Dr. Leslie J. Rissler of the National Science Foundation as the 2020 recipient of the Stephen Jay Gould Prize. Dr. Rissler was selected for her contributions and commitment to the public understanding of evolutionary biology, including founding the Evolutionary Working Group at the University of Alabama, which organized an Evolutionary Studies Minor for undergraduates and the Alabama Lectures on Life’s Evolution (ALLELE) seminar series for the public. Dr. Rissler also served as the Science Advisor and Executive Co-Producer of the Alabama Public Television program “Speaking Evolution.” As the Gould Prize awardee, Dr. Rissler will present the public outreach lecture at this year’s Evolution meeting in Cleveland, OH, USA in June. Learn more about the Gould Prize here.

Just by coincidence - the Rolling Stones will be in concert on Friday, June 19th, at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland for an "unofficial kickoff concert" for Evolution 2020. Not really, but a nice coincidence in case you want to catch the concert before attending Evolution 2020. Tickets go on sale today, 2 February, 2020. ​(photo is public domain)

In service to the goals of our three sponsoring societies (ASN, SSB, and SSE), the conference organizers and the Joint Meeting Committee are committed to providing a conference incorporating sustainable practices. This commitment starts with our choice of the conference location as we aim to offer conferences at venues that minimize carbon expenditures for the majority of attendees while providing diverse and interesting environments and amenities. For those opposed to long-distance travel, we also move the conference annually so it is in close proximity to a new group each year. During the conference we strive to reduce waste and carbon expenditures. For more information and for tips on what you can do to help reduce our carbon footprint, see our Sustainability web page.

We are offering complimentary childcareon site at the Huntington Convention Center during the morning (8:00 AM - 12:45 PM) and afternoon (2:00 - 5:45 PM) sessions on all four days of the main conference (Sat. June 20 - Tues June 21). Childcare is provided by KiddieCorp, a national organization that specializes in on-site conference childcare and with which we had a great experience at Evolution 2016. (Evol2019 attendees - be reassured that this year they WILL change diapers.) Reservations are made directly with KiddieCorp (see here). Families who have registered for childcare will be contacted one month out to confirm participation. Children 6 months to 12 years of age are welcome. Please contact us if you are interested in care for a child 6 weeks - 6 months of age.

Put your talk in the Spotlight!For the Evolution conference in Cleveland in 2020 the Spotlight sessions will follow a format that is similar to symposia at the European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) congresses. During talk sign-up for a regular contributed talk, you will have the option of indicating whether you want to be considered for a spotlight session. Talk sign-up becomes available once you have paid your registration (via your Profile Home in the registration system). Spotlight organizers will choose among the candidate submissions to assemble a set of high quality presentations while maintaining a balance of gender and career stage. Candidate submissions that are not chosen will automatically be scheduled into the regular talk sessions. More information is available here.

Our three sponsoring societies (ASN, SSB, and SSE), the Joint Meeting Committee, and the conference organizers are committed to promoting global participation in Evolution 2020. To this end, we are offering special accommodation for international participants whose visas are denied or delayed preventing them from attending Evolution 2020. ​For more information visit the Science Knows No Borders web page.

​In service to the goals of our three sponsoring societies (ASN, SSB, and SSE), the conference organizers and the Joint Meeting Committee are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all of our attendees. This commitment starts with our choice of the conference location as we will not schedule conferences in states with laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression at the time we sign contracts with the convention center and hotels. During the conference we strive to schedule social events that focus on inclusivity and networking. Here, we provide a list of events focused on diversity and networking that we plan to offer during Evolution 2020 in Cleveland, OH.